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Yes, of course there could (and perhaps will) be…more. But it is still pretty fantastic that two theatre organizations here in Colorado are singularly devoted to supporting and giving life to works by women playwrights. Right? 

Susan Lyles started And Toto Too ten years ago and has since produced twelve full-length plays, (five world premieres, and five regional premieres), two workshop productions, thirteen readings, and up to 52 world premiere shorts in the company’s annual “Play Crawl.”  

“As a woman I wanted to hear stories by people like me,” Lyles said. “Well, not exactly like me, but people who lived in the same world and skin.” 

As the longest surviving theatre company that dedicates all its efforts and resources to women writers, And Toto Too Theatre Company has remained committed to, not just the female playwright, but new plays by women who might not yet be widely known and appreciated.  

“When I started And Toto Too, I didn’t know any women writers,” Lyles said. “My playwright connections and friends were men. Now I am happy to say that I have come to know so many amazing women playwrights, way more than we could ever produce.” 

Angela Astle brought Athena Project into Colorado’s theatre scene in 2012 with a Plays In Progress Series–from which the company chose to produce its first world premiere, Clinnesha D. Sibley’s Tell Martha Not to Moan. 

“In 2008, Emily Sands did a study showing that only 17% of plays produced on and off Broadway and in regional theatres were written by women,” Astle said. “When I found that statistic still relevant in 2012, I thought that was ridiculous and as I like to say, rather than gripe about it, the festival is our way to do something about it!” 

Already impressive. And now, three years into its existence, what else is Athena doing about it? Astle mapped out clearly how the company encourages and empowers women of all ages:  

With the Athena Project Arts Festival, “We move forward the work of four female playwrights with our Plays In Progress Series, where each play is granted a director, dramaturg, actors, and 25 hours of rehearsal culminating in a workshop production of a play …We invite the audience to vote on which play is most ready for a full.” 

The ‘Girls Write Program’ “…is designed to both teach girls how to write plays and expose them to various theatre opportunities. It also informs them that there is a disparity and encourage them by validating that they do have important things to say and deserve to be heard.” 

Fostering Female Leaders in the Arts (FFLA) “…is a way to develop future directors, dramaturgs, stage managers and actors and teach them how to work with playwrights and develop new work.” 

It’s exactly the type of programming that needs to be more prevalent in any theatre community. What prevents more companies in other cities from incorporating similar ideas? And why is the number of productions of plays by women so comparatively low across the country? 

“There are a variety of factors contributing to this, starting with a mostly male-dominated leadership,” Astle said. “In addition, audiences are going to see the same old, same old plays, most of which are written by men. Let me be clear in saying that men don’t write bad plays, it’s just that until the audience demands something different, then there’s no need for artistic directors to mix it up. Which is exactly why Athena Project is working to create awareness that there is, in fact. a disparity and that we do want different voices to be heard.” 

Susan Lyles holds onto a very similar sentiment. 

“There has to be a shift in thinking by men and women that the woman’s voice is just as important as the man’s voice, and an overall shift in the societal consciousness that women are just as worthy as men. Shame that this is still an issue in the 21st century.” 

“Women possess the voices of our community,” Astle said. “They share stories of our time from different perspectives than men do. Without half the community represented, how can we accurately depict our world through art?” 

For more information, or to get more involved with The Athena Project, visit their website: www.AthenaProjectFestival.org.  

And Toto Too will open the regional premiere of Smoke by Kim Davies in October, but is not currently accepting unsolicited submissions. To find out more about the company, go to www.andtototoo.org. 

jhartwell@dramatistsguild.com